The number of people killed in the worst flood in history in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul reached 107 this Thursday, May 9, seven more than the previous day. The data was presented in a new partial assessment by the state’s Civil Protection Service, the largest in southern Brazil.
In addition to these confirmed fatalities, Civil Protection reported that another 136 people were missing, eight more than the day before. The number of people displaced by heavy rains and resulting flooding also rose in the past 24 hours, from 207.3 thousand on Wednesday to 232.1 thousand on Thursday.
In Porto Alegre, the state capital where 85% of the nearly 1.5 million inhabitants have been without water or electricity since last week, the level of the Guaiba River has dropped in the last few hours, but in most cases so far it has been one of the most elegant and In modern cities of Brazil, on the streets and avenues the water level above the asphalt still exceeds two meters, and in some neighborhoods the flood has reached the first floors of houses.
Salgado Filho International Airport remains closed: more than two meters of water poured out of the Guaiba River on the runways this Wednesday, bus terminals were also flooded and closed, and Porto Alegre currently has only one road access, even here case is problematic. collapse of bridges and slopes. In a desperate attempt to deliver food, drinking water and other donations to the nearly 100,000 residents of Guaiba, a city across the Rio from Porto Alegre, the city’s mayor improvised an airstrip on a relatively spare site. bad weather on the BR 116 road, allowing small planes with humanitarian aid to arrive.
According to a warning from the state governor, Eduardo Leite, from Thursday evening and throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday, very heavy rains are expected to hit Rio Grande do Sul again, including areas that have already been seriously affected, as well as the effects of the worst climate in region. the tragedy may increase even further.
The cold that arrived this Thursday, when temperatures could rise to five degrees in the coming days after two weeks of heat of 32-34 degrees, is another problem. Thousands of people are still trapped inside or on the roofs of partially or completely flooded houses, and even those who went to shelters left their homes with only the clothes on their backs and light clothing because it was still unbearably hot.
Author: Domingos Grilo Serrinha This correspondent in Brazil
Source: CM Jornal
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